as the u.s. continues operations in afghanistan and transitions this year to a diplomatic presence in iraq, we are also interested in the strategic view of these operations. what is achievable to continuing operations in afghanistan and how long should we say? what should be the level of u.s. commitment to funding the development of iraqi and afghan security forces? to what extent should the u.s. defense department be involved in economic development in afghanistan? there are emerging security challenges as well. over the past month we've seen in egypt, tunisia, libya, yemen and elsewhere, an uprising against the government in this country. how is the defense department poshard in the face of these development. there are long-standing national security concerns with iran, north korea and elsewhere. we interested in your views on how the fy 12 budget provides for the u.s. forces in light of the challenges. on the modernization side, and please do the fy 12 request includes funding for key initiati